


Don't Be Late

by RoseWithAllHerThorns



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Family, Mutual Pining, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 04:17:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11395185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseWithAllHerThorns/pseuds/RoseWithAllHerThorns
Summary: Nick tries to figure out why his heart's beating fast in fear. The love is self explanatory, but just as hard to deal with.





	Don't Be Late

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jiokra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jiokra/gifts).



Nick did not regret moving in with Judy. He was just scared of it, sometimes. It wasn’t that it was too much of a good thing; Judy was good, really good, and even though she wasn’t perfect he couldn’t imagine getting tired of her.

She was already gone, and had left a note on the fridge. “I’ll see you at work! Don’t be late. _`;)”

Nick smiled at the note. He suppressed the urge to move the grocery list, the case file, and the old bakery magnets to place it more prominently. That wouldn’t stop him from taking a record. He snapped three photos, then spent a moment comparing them. This one was blurry as hell. This one was a little sideways. And this one…

“Don’t be late.”

Nick didn’t laugh. Only the guilty laughed, although there was no one to be impressed with his innocence. Instead he put his phone away, ignoring the current racing of his heart. Stupid adrenaline.

o-o-o-o

“Nick!” Judy was in perfect uniform, as usual. Nick adjusted his coat, thankful for winter uniforms in the recent cold chill. “It’s great to see you up and about.”

“Same to you, Judy.” Nick raised his hand calmly, though it barely made it to desk level, and walked through the crowd of desks for their daily briefing.

He could hear the rustle of papers, and then as he rounded the bend he saw her stick them in the bag she’d put on the seat next to her. “I saved a seat for you, Rookie.”

“Niiice.” The flood of warmth that rushed through him was stupidly earnest. The good kind of stupid, the brand that made him a dumb fox.

Dumb- “I’m not late, am I?” Yet again, Nick felt that old fear, something far too primal to be mentioned even in a history book. Fear of disappointing her.

“Nowhere near late yet.” Judy gestured out at the empty desks and the absence of Chief Bogo. She blinked, and then the smile on her face widened. She stretched out to tap his shoulder. “Did you keep my note in mind? You did, didn’t you.”

“I might not have passed the fridge this morning without looking at it, I dunno know. Do you have any evidence for this outrageous claim of yours?”

Judy chuckled. “You’ve got me there. We’ll have to wait until we get home. Unless you’ve disposed of the evidence.”

“Officer Hopps, you know I would never.” Hand over his heart, Nick did his best to channel his inner cuteness. “Would this face lie to you?”

“Um.” Nick’s ear twitched in the resounding silence, but Judy merely looked away, an awkward smile gracing her face. “Well, all I know is that I trust that face.” She ducked her head into her shoulder for a moment. Was she blushing?

He climbed up on his chair as the silence stretched, staring at his partner until it was finally time to start.

o-o-o-o

As the day carried on, Nick chewed on his own feelings. He was a trained cop now. He had nothing to fear from the law (well, unless his taxes came out), and he had accepted dangerous situations as part and parcel of his life.

Why was he scared?

He pulled out the cute, simple message that had somehow started this whole mess, and stared at it. A low groan rose from him. Nick suppressed the urge to pull on his ears and instead simply clicked his phone shut again.

Gloria is why.

He’s a grown fox. He doesn’t need to feel like some guilty teenager this late in life over something as simple as the possibility of being late to something Judy wanted him to be at. His problems weren’t that stupid.

Ignoring the racing heart that spoke otherwise, Nick shook his head. It wasn’t like Judy would kick him out of their apartment. It really wasn’t.

o-o-o-o

“Nick, I’ve been wondering. What have your past partners been like? Assuming you have any, I mean.” Judy kept her eyes on the road, as though that could save her. Well, it meant she didn’t need to make eye contact. Maybe that helped.

“Carrots, you know you’re my first partner.” Judy did not squeak, but she did take her eyes off the road, sudden and startled. “ I got on the force less than a year ago. You were there!”

“No, no. I meant- did you ever date anyone?”

Nick had known what she meant. “Eh, more than once. No one worth talking about, I’m sad to say.”

“So, were they a vixen or a tod or were they not or-”

“All three.” Nick brought his coffee up to his lips and chugged, wishing briefly for something stronger. “What about you?”

“Oh! Well, I had some crushes, but it usually didn’t work out. I thought that if I was busy dating I wouldn’t ever get a chance to be an officer, because, you know. Kids.” Judy stared up at the traffic light, then turned. “I was Jackie’s Valentine, and we kept going for a few weeks. But that’s ah, everything I have to say on the matter.”

“Jackie?” Nick was surprised by the burst of jealousy that rooted and grew within him.

“Jacqueline March. We were in the same track team.”

“That sounds like a hare name.”

“It is.”

“That’s cool.” Nick felt a burst of optimism and despair at the same time. Judy liked girls. And she liked mammals who weren’t rabbits, too. “How fast could you two run, anyways?”

“Damn fast,” Judy reported. “She was faster than me, but that just made me try harder to keep up.” She smiled at the green light. “And she could never catch me, anyways.”

“I can’t blame her for trying. You’re a real catch, Judy.”

“I hope you think so, since you caught me.” Nick stared at his partner, hoping to discern whether she was flirting or just joking.

“I think you catching me would be a more accurate way to describe it.” Nick said, his wheels spinning. “You just had to go and dangle papers in front of my face, knowing I couldn’t say no to a chance to work with the most devoted policewoman on the force.”

Judy pulled into the parking lot. “You always could, once you got that carrot. But I’m really, really glad you didn’t.”

Nick reached out, lightly touching her hand. “That makes two of us.”

o-o-o-o

"What was your most recent date like?"

"Well, she was definitely a screamer." Nick wiggled his eyebrows at his partner.

"Nick!" Judy chortled to herself. "I'm asking about her personality."

He'd been talking about that. "She was a proud woman. Are you jealous, Carrots?"

"Me? No." Judy chewed on some lettuce. "Well, maybe a little."

"I prefer your screams, I'm not gonna lie."

Judy grinned at him. "You've only ever heard me scream during a case, though."

"Like I said, yours are better." There's such a thing as too much screaming.

"I'd be quiet, I swear. I wish I'd gotten the same luxury back home." She leaned against Nick, a warm solid comfort. "That reminds me!" She pulled a box of blueberries out of her lunch bag. "I got you a little something."

"Thank you." Nick waited unconsciously, for some zinger about how he couldn't be allowed to take care of himself, but Judy just handed him the goods and leaned against him again.

"Where'd you get these beauties?" He asked, popping one into his mouth.

"I asked mom and dad to send some in their care package." She smiled, pressing her cheek against his shoulder before seeming to notice and straightening up.

"Do you talk to them often?" Nick felt his phone burning a hole in his pocket. He pat the feeling away.

"Pretty often, yeah. Every week or two. I'm surprised they have that much time for me, with the little ones on the way."

"How many this time?"

"Heh, who knows. They have a lot of little jumpers ready."

o-o-o-o

"Hey, mom." Nick stood by the window, staring down at the street outside their apartment.

"Are you together with your Judy?"

"Yes. I mean, no! We're together, physically, in the physical location. She's on the couch." He put the phone on speaker.

"Hi, Mrs Wilde." Judy waved at his mother.

"So Gloria's really out of your life." Nick's stomach dropped. He and his mom hadn't talked in a while, so of course he'd have to catch her up on old news.

"I hope so." She's blocked. He'd never have had the nerve to get a restraining order, but that wasn't necessary anyways. They had enough of each other as it was.

"She was so good for you."

"If we were that good, we'd still be together."

"You'd still be together if-"

"Mooom. Tell me about your life." Nick grimaced at the wall, his voice cheerfully fake, and took the phone off speaker. When Judy looked at him, he locked himself in the bathroom.

o-o-o-o

When the call ended, Nick took his time washing his hands. It gave him that fresh strawberry scent. The door loomed in front of him, but nothing could stop him from sitting on the phone and playing Candy Crush. Nothing, of course, except embarrassment about hiding in the bathroom from Judy.

When he stepped out, Judy was just looking through some case files, scratching notes down on a pad.

"Did the rest of it go well?" She asked, and Nick felt some tension he didn't want to notice erode away.

"I'm not sure why I was worried." He leaned against the couch next to her. Judy looked very huggable right then, but Nick found it hard to close the distance. She was busy, after all.

"I don't blame you if you were." Judy turned around to look at Nick. "Family's hard sometimes."

"It sure is." They sat there, thigh to thigh, unable to close the distance.

"I'm glad you tried. I didn't know if you had family, considering she didn't come to your ceremony."

"She's a busy lady. You know how it is."

Judy leaned back, looked at Nick, then slowly leaned against him, setting aside her work. "Yeah, I do."


End file.
